SMALL ANIMAL CLINICAL SCIENCES (VSCS

Dr. Sonya Gordon

Dr. Erin Scott

VSCS has three major missions: innovative education, leading-edge veterinary care, and clinical research and therapeutic trials. Each of these activities is intended to improve the quality of life for companion animals and their owners. The VSCS department provides clinical education in canines, felines, and exotics. The department’s researchers study health issues common to both humans and animals in areas such as cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics, aging, and oncology.

VSCS has dedicated space for clinical trials and biobanking, and is focused on innovative teaching through collaborations with the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Center for Educational Technologies, and through departmental grants for the scholarship of teaching.

VSCS offers the following one-year internships and three-year residency programs:

• Internal Medicine Internship • Ophthalmology Internship • Surgical Oncology Internship • Surgery Internship • Anesthesiology Residency • Cardiology Residency • Emergency & Critical Care

Residency • Dermatology Residency • Internal Medicine Residency • Neurology Residency • Oncology Residency • Ophthalmology Residency • Surgery Residency • Clinical Trials Fellowship

Highlights from FY20 include:

Research

• We have received endowments that will help us expand our biorepository and clinical trials core to be a college-wide resource that will facilitate clinical trials. • The Dog Aging Project, led at Texas A&M University by Dr. Kate Creevy and funded by the National Institute of Aging, has identified over 100,000 potential participants and has begun enrolling. The study will assess factors associated with aging and will also conduct a multi-center therapeutic trial. • Our gastrointestinal laboratory has continued to generate impactful new diagnostics and have created assays to detect pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal tract of dogs and cats.

Patient Care

• Dr. Ashley Navarette joined our primary care service in June 2020, to support student learning and patient care. • We have adjusted our hospital protocols to minimize risks associated with

COVID-19, while still allowing our clinical team to provide outstanding patient care. • Our neurology team performed life-saving pituitary removal surgery on animals this past year, becoming one of the first centers in the United States to do so.

Teaching

• The department is planning to expand the surgical education of fourth-year students, with the help of a chair established by the Dr. William A. Roach ’55 and his family. • Our faculty have dramatically expanded hybrid and online curricula, to address challenges associated with COVID-19.